{"product_id":"walter-harper-alaska-native-son-9780803295902","title":"Walter Harper, Alaska Native Son","description":"2018 Alaskana Award from the Alaska Library Association \u003cbr\u003e 2018 Alaska Historical Society James H. Drucker Alaska Historian of the Year Award \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWalter Harper, Alaska Native Son\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates the life of the remarkable Irish-Athabascan man who was the first person to summit Mount Denali, North America's tallest mountain. Born in 1893, Walter Harper was the youngest child of Jenny Albert and the legendary gold prospector Arthur Harper. His parents separated shortly after his birth, and his mother raised Walter in the Athabascan tradition, speaking her Koyukon-Athabascan language. When Walter was seventeen years old, Episcopal archdeacon Hudson Stuck hired the skilled and charismatic youth as his riverboat pilot and winter trail guide. During the following years, as the two traveled among Interior Alaska's Episcopal missions, they developed a father-son-like bond and summited Denali together in 1913. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Walter's strong Athabascan identity allowed him to remain grounded in his birth culture as his Western education expanded, and he became a leader and a bridge between Alaska Native peoples and Westerners in the Alaska territory. He planned to become a medical missionary in Interior Alaska, but his life was cut short at the age of twenty-five, in the \u003ci\u003ePrincess Sophia \u003c\/i\u003edisaster of 1918 near Skagway, Alaska\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Harper exemplified resilience during an era when rapid socioeconomic and cultural change was wreaking havoc in Alaska Native villages. Today he stands equally as an exemplar of Athabascan manhood and healthy acculturation to Western lifeways whose life will resonate with today's readers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mary F. Ehrlander\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bison Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 216\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.05lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.30w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780803295902\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/15\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary F. Ehrlander \u003c\/b\u003eis a professor emeritus of history and Arctic and Northern studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She won the 2018 Alaska Historical Society James H. Drucker Alaska Historian of the Year Award. Ehrlander is the coauthor of \u003ci\u003eHospital and Haven: The Life and Work of Grafton and Clara Burke in Northern Alaska\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2023) and author of \u003ci\u003eEqual Educational Opportunity: Brown's Elusive Mandate\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bison Books","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44125880713331,"sku":"9.7808E+12","price":37.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/files\/img_b70046b6-b9c0-4146-9e26-d416ecf37635.jpg?v=1764767433","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/walter-harper-alaska-native-son-9780803295902","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}